How a $1B Father-Son Team in Arkansas Left UBS for Full Independence

Article published on Financial Planning on November 10, 2022 by Victoria Zhuang. 

Financial advisors looking to go independent usually spend anywhere from a few months to a year planning their move. For one father-son team leaving UBS, it’s been a nearly decade-long process.

Roy David Gutierrez and his son David Hale Gutierrez announced Nov. 7 the launch of their new registered investment advisor firm, Gutierrez Wealth Advisory of Little Rock, Arkansas. They were joined from UBS by director of client relations Leighann Arthur and client relations associate Hillary Canterbury. The team has a total of almost $1 billion in client assets, including $330 million in assets under management and another $625 million of retirement plan assets under advisement.

SEC records show that the firm was active as of Oct. 21. In addition to Arkansas, it is also licensed in Texas and Florida — the same markets that their old employer UBS intends to target as more wealthy families settle in the South, according to a news report by Reuters last week.

The move comes after UBS lost a $2.6 billion team to wirehouse Wells Fargo last week, and a $1.7 billion team to regional brokerage RBC the week before. AdvisorHub reported UBS’s loss of a smaller advisor pair in New Jersey, with around $700 million in AUM, to Morgan Stanley last week. The Swiss bank has big plans to grow its U.S. footprint and acquire ultra high net worth specialists, as it did last month with a $1 billion Morgan Stanley team in Rhode Island, but it faces a sharp-elbowed battle with competitors.

The Gutierrez firm will focus on custom advice for affluent families and individuals and consulting on retirement plans, according to a press release. Services it will offer include financial planning and portfolio management, insurance and annuities, tax strategies, liability management, education funding, estate planning, charitable giving and personal banking, according to the firm’s website.

“We’re positioned to expand our wealth management services to families and individuals across Arkansas, providing fiduciary guidance and custom solutions with a human touch,” said David Gutierrez in the press release. He said that TruClarity, a consulting firm that specializes in helping advisors achieve independence, facilitated the transition.

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